Exactly how do you plan and structure a news script?
Most news is delivered around 2 to 3 words per minute, so plan for 120 to 180 wpm in your script.
Cues and timing elements help structure radio and tv scripts.
Print conventions are different from radio and TV scripts. For example, where $2 million would be the AP Style for a print article, a script would spell out “two million dollars.” Scripts also spell out the pronunciations of difficult names and places.
Examples for radio and tv/av.
- BUENOS AIRES (BWAY-NOS-AIR-EES)
- Buenos Aires (bway nos air ees)
Radio scripts are written in ALL CAPS (upper case). But in TV, only the cues and directions are written in all caps. The actual spoken narration is in standard upper and lower case type.
Five basic broadcast news story types:
- Readers (RDR) — Anchor or reporter just reads the story with no actualities, sometimes with over the shoulder graphics (OTS). Usually short, 20 seconds or so.
- Voice Overs (VO) — Anchor reads “over” full screen graphic or video. Usually short, 20 seconds or so.
- Sound on Tape (SOT) — Clip from an interview, speech or event; with lead-in and exit line, often expressed as VO-SOT-VO. Mid-length, 45 seconds.
- Package (PKG) — One event usually with one reporter, various forms including VOSOTVO or looklive stand-up.
- DONUT — A news package that begins with the anchor in a live intro, switches to a reporter’s PKG, and ends with an anchor “tag.” (A tag is a final word from the anchor that fills in a little extra meaning or emotion.) Usually 45 seconds to one and a half minutes.
Radio Scripts have time and actuality cues along with spoken text. Here’s a guide to podcast scripts. Television scripts have time and video cues along with spoken text. Here’s one example from Visi How.
Here’s some advice from Poynter on TV script writing
Terms used in script writing:
Actuality – Sometimes shortened to “ACT” Audio or video recording taken outside of the studio on location (aka sound bite in radio; aka SOT Sound On Tape from a source in a TV script)
A – Roll — Main part of a news package including stand up and interviews.
B – Roll — Background video with establishing shots or more of the scene, usually with VO (voice over) or NAT (natural sound)
Chroma Key – Greenscreen – Video in background, reporter in foreground
Chyron – Words or images on part of the screen (usually lower third or over-the shoulder) that identify speakers, locations, subjects, or tease another story.
Crawl – AKA the news ticker, a thin bar of scrolling text which informs viewers of any upcoming breaking news or weather alerts.
Hot Roll – When a crew in the field doesn’t have enough time to feed back footage to the newsroom, so they must roll it live from the truck during the broadcast.
Kicker – A light story that ends a newscast.
Lip Flap – Video of somebody talking, with the audio portion muted. Happens when using video of people being interviewed as B-roll. Avoid it.
Lower Third – The bottom third of the frame containing text information regarding the current story, the anchors’ or interviewee’s identification, and other relevant captions.
NATSOT or NAT Package – A type of pre-produced package that has no reporter track; the only audio is the natural sound of the video being shown. It may also use interview sound bites. Often used to convey the mood or atmosphere at a scene or an event.
NAT Sound – Natural sound on video that the microphone picks up. Example: Including sound of a rally with video of a rally.
OC or On Cam – Abbreviation for “on camera.”
On Camera Bridge or OC Bridge – The reporter appearing on camera in the middle of the story. Used for transition between voiceovers or soundbites, or when there is no video to talk over.
Outcue – The final three or four words of a news package, included in scripts to signal to the anchor and control room staff when the package is about to end so they can cue the next element in the program.
Over the Shoulder Graphic or OTS or OC Box – A graphic that appears over the anchor’s shoulder.
Package (sometimes Wrap) – A pre-recorded, pre-produced news story, usually by a reporter, with track, sound, B-roll, and possibly a stand-up.
POV or Point-of-View Shot – B-roll shot from the perspective of the subject, illustrating what the subject sees or saw at a given moment.
Pronouncer – Phonetic spelling of word in story, placed in copy behind correctly spelled word.
PSA – Abbreviation for “Public Service Announcement.”
Raw Video – Unedited video, just as it was shot. Also called field video.
Reader – A script read entirely by the anchor on camera, without sound bites or video.
Remote – A live shot from the field, where a satellite truck is required to transmit the image.
Rundown – An electronic or paper form created by the line producer of a news broadcast. Gives specific details of every element in a newscast, including the order of stories, video, audio, and graphic elements and timing for each.
ROSR – Radio On Scene Report. Audio broadcast from the scene of a breaking news story, or shortly in the wake of recent events.
Rundown – An electronic or paper form created by the line producer of a news broadcast. Gives specific details of every element in a newscast, including the order of stories, video, audio and graphic elements and timing for each.
Sidebar – A small story, graphic, or chart accompanying a bigger story on the same topic.
Sign Off, Sig, Sig Out – Reporter giving name and dateline at the end of a package or report.
Slate – A full-screen graphic, shown on screen before the beginning of pre-produced video which identifies the story title, the reporter’s name, and the total running time. Only for newsroom use; not meant for broadcast.
Slug – The name given to a story for newsroom use.
SOT or Sound Bit – “Sound on Tape.” A recorded comment, usually audio and video, from a news source other than the anchor, narration, or voiceover, played during a news story. Usually an edited portion of a larger statement.
Spot – A commercial.
Stacking – Lining up stories within a newscast based on their important and relationship to one another.
Stagger-through – A full rehearsal of the show.
Standup – A reporter speaking to camera, not covered by video.
Studio (in the) – A story updating or supplying additional details about an event that has been previously covered.
Still – A still image as opposed to a moving video image. Stills can be used to illustrate a story and can sometimes be displayed over track or interview clips instead of video footage.
Sting – A brief piece of music, typically less than fifteen seconds, used to punctuate the end of a segment or story. The sting is often the station’s own jingle.
Stop Set – The time allotted to any commercial breaks within the broadcast.
Survey Week, Sweeps Week – The week in which a station’s viewership is monitored and rated.
Switch – An instruction given to the control room to cut to another camera or video source.
Tag – A paragraph at the end of a news story, usually delivered by the anchor, that provides additional information or sums up the item.
Tease – A short description of an upcoming story designed to keep the viewer watching through commercial breaks.
Tight on – A direction to the camera crew to zoom in on a subject so that they fill the shot (e.g. “Tight on anchor/guest.”)
Time Code – The time signature on a camera or recording device—actual time a story is being shot on a 24-hour basis, i.e., 1300 is 1 p.m., 0900 is 9 a.m. Includes hours, minutes, seconds, and video frames.
Toss – When an anchor or reporter turns over a portion of the show to another anchor or reporter.
Track – The reporter’s written and recorded script in a news package.
Tracking – The act of recording a script.
TRT – “Total running time.” The length of an edited package.
Two-Shot – Most often an interview guest and the back of the reporter’s head. Also used to refer to any shot including two people; two anchors at a single news desk, for instance.
Upcut – Chopping off the beginning of the audio or video of a shot or video story. Opposite of downcut.
Video Journalist or VJ – A reporter who shoots his or her own video and may even edit it. Also referred to as a “Multimedia Journalist.”
Videographer – A name for a photographer or cameraperson.
VO or Voiceover – “Voiceover” followed by “sound on tape.” A news script, usually read live, that includes video, track, and at least one sound bite.
VOSOT – “Voiceover” followed by “sound on tape.” A news script, usually read live, that includes video, track, and at least one sound bite.
Watermark – A semi-transparent graphic, usually the station’s logo, placed in one corner of the broadcast feed.
Woodshedding – The practice of annotating a news script to denote which words should be spoken with emphasis.
Back Timing – On-set on-the-fly timed rehearsal of a final segment of a news broadcast so the anchors can speed up or slow down to coincide with the exact time to end the news program. (Traditional broadcast news)
——
MORE 
Sample TV.Script (.docx)
Sample Radio.Script (.docx)